Thirty30
by darkenedmoonlightflame
Summary: [For the LJ Community, 30Kisses.] Thirty moments when the world stops, and night and day collide. [Uchiha Itachi X Uzumaki Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto X Uchiha Itachi.] The darkstyle, notsoshort shounenai and yaoi 'drabbles'.
1. Notice

**o.O.o.O**

**Thirty-30**

**Uchiha Itachi X Uzumaki Naruto bias. Shounen-ai—don't like, don't read, don't cry.**

**darkenedmoonlightflame**

**For the LJ Community, 30-Kisses. Thirty moments when the world stops, and night and day collide. Uchiha Itachi X Uzumaki Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto X Uchiha Itachi.**

_Disclaimer: I do not own either Naruto or the 30-Kisses Themes, and do not claim to. However, everything else, AKA: the writing, (some of) the (theme-guided) plot, any poetic interpretation, et cetera, IS MINE._

(A/N: Hello! Welcome to Thirty-30. This is a **special-edition author's note**, so don't worry or tear hair out, please? (smiles hopefully) It's basically just a **preview of the thirty themes and their summaries** (This is mostly so that I don't forget… Eheheheh.). And guess what? For once, I'm not using the summaries in my writing. (laughs in a self-satisfied manner) Well, okay. So maybe I used quotes. (pouts) Leave poor dark aloooneee…!

(Note: For those of you unfamiliar with the **LJ Community 30-Kisses**, it's basically a live-journal (online journal) that has created thirty (albeit strange but good) themes to challenge authors. You pick a pairing ('adopt it'; but I missed my chance…) and write, draw, et cetera all thirty themes. Here's the catch: each has to have your pairing, and a kiss between them. Visit the community's site, because I am so bad at explaining, if you want more information. (http://community. (OR, just in case: http:// community. 30kisses/ profile, minus the spaces)

(Bias Notice: **ITANARU**.** NARUITA**.** Maybe some SasuNaru**,** NaruSasu** in super, super, super miniscule amounts. Go Uchiha brothers, get that Naru-kun…! (grins) Anyhow, shounen-ai (boy love) pairing! Boy X boy. I've already warned all the readers, so you can't really have anything against me unless you've a close-minded jerk that hates shounen-ai, reads the warning, and still reads the story. Genius.

(Well, (coughs) enjoy (?) the special-edition notice. First set of three should be up SOON. Second set… (laughs slightly) I'll see. Have fun, if you can.)

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**Thirty-30**

**NOTE.**

* * *

**o.O.o.O**

_**One, Look over Here! – Heavens-Eyes**_

It was an undertaking that was effortless, to compare Naruto's eyes to those vast astrological bodies that dwelled over and amongst them.

**o.O.o.O**

Two, News; Letter—Paper Crane 

It's been three and a half years, and he still can't find the words to tell them all. (It's been said that writing a letter is so much easier, but is it true? Is it true that he l_oves_ Uchiha Itachi?)

**o.O.o.O**

Three, Jolt! — Frequently 

Death does unthinkable things to people. Confronted with the prospect of dying, some things change for the unexpected better. A rapid-fire conversation ensues between them. And at the end… (Naruto could still remember the way Itachi's eyes had _burned_ when their lips met for the first time.)

**o.O.o.O**

Four, Our Distance and That Person—Shades of Color, Shades of Gray 

It was hard, recalling Sasuke's expression when he had said, 'No, I don't love you.' It hurt to envision his black and white world tipping into many, many shades of gray, and Itachi leaned down…

**o.O.o.O**

Five, "Anou Sa" ("Hey, You Know…")—Despair 

Naruto leaned closer in the darkness, eyes closing once more, but differently. This time it was for forever. ("Anou sa, I'll love you for forever. But how long is forever, Itachi?") (Sometimes, he could picture the moment where his blade hadn't faltered, where their roles were reversed, and instead it was he being stabbed oh-so-softly by Naruto.)

**o.O.o.O**

Six, The Space Between Dream and Reality—Of Clouds and Stars and Blood 

Sometimes, those cold blood-red eyes would glimmer, and Naruto could almost see the way they reveled in wonder. ('What if it hadn't happened?' he thinks.)

**o.O.o.O**

Seven, Superstar—Hokage 

How was it possible? How could it be that he could see things that no one else could…? That he was the one to dream the impossible, and make it reality. (Naruto pointed. "See? That one's you. And that one's us." And he smiled.) Itachi knew the answer.

**o.O.o.O**

Eight, Our Own World—Festival 

They were caught up in the bliss of enrapture, when the night stole forward and stole something of the day.

**o.O.o.O**

_**Nine, Dash! — Obelisk**_

Itachi watched with sad eyes as Naruto's carefree mask dissolved, and he visited the memorial, day after day after day… for Sasuke. And yet, he couldn't help but be secretly happy. (Occasionally, Naruto would wonder if he really _could_ live up to his father's name. But those moments passed quickly when he was with the others.)

**o.O.o.O**

_**Ten, Number 10—Cells One 2 (to) Ten**_

And the jaws did fall.

**o.O.o.O**

Eleven, Gardenia—Blooms 

Ino understood flowers. They lived, they withered, they died, they bloomed. (And, she surmised, so did people.)

**o.O.o.O**

Twelve, In a Good Mood—Take the Effort Boldly, and Smirk 

Sasuke's day was in shambles. (So it was only natural for Itachi to take precious time from his Akatsuki routine, and to smirk.)

**o.O.o.O**

Thirteen, Excessive Chain—Subway 

Subway cars were confusing, he decided at last. ("Oh, and he never _did_ like trains—he was only pretending for you." Itachi blinked. Oh.)

**o.O.o.O**

Fourteen, Radio-Cassette Player—Sway 

When it came to dancing, Itachi could only—would only—watch Naruto.

**o.O.o.O**

Fifteen, Perfect Blue—Perfect Blue 

Itachi mused over the sound of crashing waves, and the delighted screams of Naruto at play. At a distance, of course. (Was it always that way?)

**o.O.o.O**

Sixteen, Invincible; Unrivaled—Say Hello Nicely to Overprotective-san, Please? 

Itachi had never liked tests. Especially ones with homicidal proctors, also known as the youngest Uchiha, best friend of Naruto. ("So, you don't like wasabi?" Those strangely onyx eyes gleamed mischievously in the twilight. "Alright. I challenge you, aniki! If you win, you two can date. And if you lose…" Itachi vaguely considered ripping out his younger brother's throat as he lugged out the bottle of that familiar, ever-disgusting green goop.)

**o.O.o.O**

Seventeen, kHz (Kilohertz)— Magnitude of Caller-ID 

Little details, Naruto decided, sucked worse than Sasuke's cooking skills. (And the telephone went insane, courtesy one Hyuuga Neji.)

**o.O.o.O**

_**Eighteen, Say "Ah…"—Doctor, Medicine, No!**_

The one time he really, really, _really _needed it, his hyperactive, impenetrable immune system failed him. ("Just take the medicine, Naruto-kun. And then we can go." Itachi was patient, really. He was, but—"NO!!! EVIL!!!"—just not when Naruto was shrieking and he was missing out on some 'action'.)

**o.O.o.O**

Nineteen, Red—Red 

Red was very becoming of Itachi. (The eyes, the blood, those terrifyingly familiar clouds; they echoed one another.)

**o.O.o.O**

Twenty, The Road Home—Return 

It wasn't fair, but then again, that was _life._ ("No matter what I do, I'll promise to come back for you," He said. And Naruto believed him. He wanted to.)

**o.O.o.O**

Twenty-One, Violence; Pillage or Plunder; Extortion—Ransack 

Maybe that was one of the reasons he had killed them all. (A review of the Uchiha Clan, apartment destruction, unlocked doors, blondes, Sasuke, and, of course, Naruto himself. Kisame asks, Naruto blushes, Itachi mutters a death threat, and the game continues.)

**o.O.o.O**

Twenty-Two, Cradle—Origin 

No matter how many he killed, saved, smiled at, cried with… _He never forgot. _(Who he was, where he was, what he'd done, whom he kissed, _why_ he kissed, where he came from, that he cried.)

**o.O.o.O**

Twenty-Three, Candy—Cherry Drops 

And they looked _sooo_ good. (Ino had to admit, Sakura was right. The two were a very… 'healthy' couple. And damn if those candies weren't yummy. Plan backfired.)

**o.O.o.O**

_**Twenty-Four, Good Night—Stars and Sleeping Bags**_

Camping wasn't so bad. It was just the ghost stories that he didn't like. ("Hey?" Silence, then, "Yes, Naruto?" A slow inhale, and a deep exhale. "Itachi? Thanks." Pause. "Goodnight." His eyes closed, and he completely missed that small, warm smile. "Yeah, goodnight.")

**o.O.o.O**

Twenty-Five, Fence—Borderline 

They were one of those 'borderline' odd couples. But that weird one, the blonde guy, was _his_ weird blonde guy. (Neji twitched, and resolved to buy as much loud music and as many shouji screens as possible. _Anything_ to never see or hear those people on the other side of the fence again.)

**o.O.o.O**

Twenty-Six, If Only I Could Make You Mine—Distance 

For the first twelve years, Itachi watched.

**o.O.o.O**

Twenty-Seven, Overflow—First 

The first touch between them was special, and so Itachi poured as much emotion as he could manage—control—into it.

**o.O.o.O**

Twenty-Eight, Wada Calcium CD3—Fine 

It had been an off day, and Naruto didn't approve of himself, but Itachi didn't care what the mirrors said. ("You look perfectly fine to me." Naruto glowered. "Oh, yeah? Well you and your Sharingan are defective!" Slowly, Naruto closed his open, shouting mouth. "Oops?")

**o.O.o.O**

Twenty-Nine, The Sound of Waves—The Sound of Waves, Listen 

One of the best things about being together, here and now, was that Itachi could faintly hear the sound of waves after they had finished their respective tasks, and had met the other halfway.

**o.O.o.O**

Thirty, Kiss—Kisu! Everywhere You Go 

The first thought of many was an obscenity. The second was to form a fanclub. But for Sasuke, the first action was a heart attack. (An average, rare, and short but sweet week between the two takes a not-so average turn, leaving everyone confused. "I… Itachi and Naruto? Together?")

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**(A/N: Thank you for your attention. Please go on? (sighs) And hopefully I can continue…! Sound interesting?**

**(You can use this chapter to test out some of the author note formatting, if you'd like. Questions? Go ahead and ask. Review, please?)

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**

**Japanese Vocabulary Index; (I kind of limited the vocabulary this time…) (Got a question? Ask it! Did I skip a big one? Mention it!)**

Shounen-ai—boy love, literally (boy X boy pairing) (I feel sorry for you if you hate shounen-ai, but are still reading up to this point…)

Yaoi—Intensified shounen-ai, a more serious relationship, often involving _real_ boy X boy action!

_All further vocabulary will be left up to the set with the specific drabble, where it will hopefully be covered.

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_

**Story Notes;**

None yet, I'd like to say. (beams) YES! None… (cries from overload of joy) Oh, wait. One.

**a—Trackers—**the drabbles will have individual 'trackers'. Things at the end that note the pairs, number of words, and say either bold or italic. All will be understood next chapter, readers… (I feel old now.)

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**Reviews: **

**Sincere thanks to…**

Nobody! (cries slightly)

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**Next Chapter ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;**

**First three themes are… Look over Here!, News; Letter, Jolt!. **

**Set 1 ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

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**

_**I can hardly believe it. I'm DONE? (I feel like I'm forgetting something.)**_

_**Nonetheless, I'm posting this immediately (but not really...) so I can go back to crazy and hectic updating! YES!**_

**Ja ne,**

**o.O.o.O darkenedmoonlightflame O.o.O.o**

**And company. My adorably annoying muses. 'Kotsu-san and the Sess-sei.**

(P.S. Hope you enjoyed this, and will show some self-restraint when poking at us… If not… (evil smile) Anyhow, thanks for reading the special notice of 'Thirty-30'…!)

**Chapter Finished: 11.14.06 or earlier, exact date has been forgotten. (Great, aren't I?)**

**Post: 12.30.06. For New Year's Eve. Because I felt too guilty to post absolutely nothing... I missed writing something for Christmas, and am now going on vacation. Yes, terrible of me. **

**Spell Check: Yep. **

**Brain Check: Hnn. That's not funny, 'Kotsu-san. But then again, it is. (glares) Too… tired… to… strangle!**


	2. I, II, III

**o.O.o.O**

**Thirty-30**

**Uchiha Itachi X Uzumaki Naruto bias. Shounen-ai—don't like, don't read, don't cry.**

**darkenedmoonlightflame**

**For the LJ Community, 30-Kisses. Thirty moments when the world stops, and night and day collide. Uchiha Itachi X Uzumaki Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto X Uchiha Itachi.**

_Disclaimer: I do not own either Naruto or the 30-Kisses Themes, and do not claim to. However, everything else, AKA: the writing, (some of) the (theme-guided) plot, any poetic interpretation, et cetera, IS MINE._

(A/N: This will be updated whenever possible, if I do not post them all at once. I'm sorry if any of my readers have anxious 'when-will-you-post?' issues. This isn't exactly about that. Please enjoy.

(Note: As of late, I've been having extreme difficulty keeping Itachi in character. I'll see what I can do. I apologize for any terrifying bouts of OOC-ness (out-of-character-ness) he may have. (Such as the third drabble… Blame it on boredom and death.) Also, I'm sorry if I rearrange the titles a bit…

(Drabble Note: Most of the stuff I will mention in here is **fictional**. Such as the writing a letter is easier, paper cranes equal hope, death making strange conversations, et cetera. If it's true… well, then that's a miracle of scientific acquaintance, otherwise known as coincidence.

(Drabble Note: These are **unconnected**, or at least I intended for them to be that way. The styles may vary. Anyhow. There are **themes for each set of three**. **Any who can guess them (first four) may pick a topic for a drabble or request a second alternate version of an existing one.** If I feel super inspired, I might attempt to draw you a picture, and congratulations if you can pick out anything Naruto-like in them. Sorry, I draw pretty poorly. But I will TRY if I can!

(Content Note: I apologize for the **bold** or _italics_ at the start of each paragraph. It started out as an accident, and well… I don't know. I'm kind of amused; I like them… Do you like? Is it okay? I hope so, in case I forget to fix it… (laughs nervously) (smiles) And yes. The drabble-stories are incredibly weird. WEIRD. And a little nonsensical, too serious at first, then too scatterbrained at the end. (sighs)

(Content Note: I've been getting intrigued by shounen-ai lately.ItaNaru, SasuNaru, RaitoL, LRaito, specifically. Shounen-ai: boy's love, which means… boy X boy. Got it? Good… Have fun, readers, don't be permanently scarred, yeah?

(Content Note: One last one, I promise. There will be about ten chapters to this. Three 'drabbles' (cough I'm-bad-at-short-things cough) each. That's three per chapter, thirty total, yes? **Maybe** I'll take a request or two, if the themes seem very good. So try if you like. (nods) Okay, then. That's it. **Enjoy the first three: Look over Here, News—Letter, Jolt (Super OOC warning, humor, super kiss (let me know how it is, it's only my first try at writing it, and it _should_ be confusing)!).**

(So, presenting, Thirty-30. This is a rough copy, just for New Year's. Sorry if it's really, _really _weird. I know I'll cry when I look at this again and find ten million mistakes... Ah, already beginning the new year badly (cringes)...)

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**Thirty-30**

**I, II, III.

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**

…

_**o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o**_

_**…**_

**_One, Look over Here! — Heavens-Eyes_**

**Uchiha Itachi despised the human race. **He found himself predisposed to hate every single thing about the blissfully ignorant people that inhabited the world, and he often found himself openly displaying his dislike. An uncharacteristic thing, his father would have said, had Itachi not murdered him in cold blood. The S-Class missing-nin narrowed his ruby-colored eyes at the boy, silently willing the cheery apparition to leave him in serenity.

**To please, please leave him alone… **Unfortunately, _stupidly,_ the other paid no heed. He carefully, meticulously, almost, placed himself strategically next to the stoic, hatred-centered killer. The happy deviation from the norm proffered him a tender smile, leaning into his arm lightly. The apathetic Akatsuki counterpart glared.

'**Closer, closer, more, more…'** Itachi drew in the necessary, measured oxygen for a shallow breath, and instead he found another invading his borders. The uncaring fool was breaching his chosen confinement, and here he was, sitting. The scent of spring rain shifted closer to him, drifting away from its origin of blonde wisps; and Itachi shifted in the grass, cold eyes hardening reflexively. There was something wrong with this logic, in his opinion; it omitted blood and a gory death.

**He felt a slight weight tug at his sleeve.** Against his better judgement, he ignored it. The weight steadily increased, until he could feel the entirety of the other against his lithe yet solid chest and shoulder. It wasn't much, and he was surprised to discover that he wasn't annoyed in the least by this sudden change, at the contact. Mutely, he accepted the comforting warmth—it _was_ the middle of a particularly icy February, he reasoned—and gave unspoken permission to the figure to continue relaxing nonchalantly.

**His hair was the color of sunlight.** That was the first and only thing Itachi could think of at the moment. It was kind of off-hand, and a strange, unpredictable comment. '… Interesting.' He murmured inside his mind softly, taking in those tenacious—and oh-so-very-stubborn—blue eyes.

**They were the color of the sky, weren't they?** Like floating, tinted pearls amongst the night sky, moons suspended in the midst of a heart-shaped face for a simple moment in time, true and clear. Itachi would sometimes find himself confronted with such trifling matters as this. It was almost poetic, and quite silly, how his mind would suddenly come up with an incredibly irrational theory. It was pathetic, how he could so easily feel himself gravitating towards the boy with the heavens-eyes.

'**His name was…?'** The thoughts began to cloud his head, and he had trouble recalling his words. The name was familiar, forbidden even, and yet… His mind, not lacking in demure and utter composure, like his cold expression, grumbled in frustration at the lack of progress.

**He could nearly feel himself unconsciously tilting forward.** 'Closer, _closer, _more, _more_…' His mind subconsciously beguiled him to obey, enrapturing him with gently spoken words. Slyness, and the coyness of the encroachment of his analytical mind, began to enchant him.

**At last he remembered.** 'Ara… It's Naruto-kun. Uzumaki-sei. Of course.' But even so…

**He was steadily drawn in.** Those heavens-eyes… they were so beautiful, so beautiful. He was drowning in those figurative yet obscure astrological bodies; so awe-tainted were they as to even bring forth something from _he._ The man with no heart, didn't they say?

**His own blood-colored eyes followed. **The other boy made unconscious movements, and so Itachi's Sharingan followed. They were indistinct in their movements—he was fighting, fighting the entire time, of course—and slow in their progression. And yet…! And yet he could still feel the sluggish pace at which the expressionless orbs were magnetized with this boy. Captivated by the enigmatic optics, those cerulean pools of thought, he could only helplessly follow the concluded pathway of his observations.

_**o.O.o.O**_

**Uzumaki Naruto traced the lines.** Lines had been driven into Itachi's pale complexion, nestled below his ever-crimson, ever-haunted eyes. They had been spawned of awareness and paranoia; even now, now that he trusted someone, they remained. The blonde didn't mind; he understood. _For he felt the same at times._ His supple fingers delicately slipped over the smooth, alabaster skin with a practice that was so flawless and so uncommon. Itachi watched him warily, and Naruto offered him a gentle smile, overflowing with genuine alacrity.

'**How had this begun?**' Itachi wondered to himself; there were many, many things. Perhaps it had been their similarities. Their loneliness, their solitude, their lack of understanding from others, their pain, their secret—_or not so much so_—hatred…

**Musing, Itachi spoke, "Naruto-kun? **When will you cease…" _To love me?_ He never asked such dreamy questions aloud. That wasn't his role. It was Naruto's—they completed each other. Moon and sun, day and night; yet sometimes, their parts were reversed by the game that was fate. "When will you cease…" _To acknowledge me?_ It wasn't his place, was it? And yet the Uchiha inquired, "When will you forget…" _You and I, us, everything, your place, our place? _

"**When will you not _want_… to remember?" **He concluded at last, breathlessly, uncharacteristically. All of a sudden, those veiled eyes peered up at him, taking him inside their depths.

"…" Absentmindedly, Itachi noted that silence became them both, very, very well. His eyes never flinched as those curiously soft hands returned to his face once more. He only focused on the boy's touches and his expressive face.

**His own was like marble.** Itachi had a sharp countenance, with a lethal but bland emotion—almost severe dislike or steady disapproval—constantly present there among the subtle beauty. His hair was dark, very dark and obsidian, as his throat-length bangs occasionally obscured his vision. The contrast between his creamy skin and the forbidding locks was stark and harsh, refined beyond recognition. The longer strands were pulled back, into a ponytail, draped down to the small of his back.

**It was always tied with a red ribbon.** Red for blood, red for death, red for pain, red for his _cursed Uchiha **eyes**_, red for sorrow, and red… red for _love. _Naruto didn't answer, only continuing to twist and manipulate the silky hair within his controlling grasp.

**This was wrong.** Figuratively, morally, physically, psychologically, socially, emotionally, status-wise, et cetera, et cetera, and…! And Itachi could care less. A man with no heart felt nothing. And he, although he truly did have a heart, felt nothing as well. Its only purpose was to keep him alive, keep his life's blood circulating.

_**ANYTHING to keep him with Naruto.**_

**At last, Naruto answered.**

"**I will love you, Itachi-kun…** until the tears of sadness, at our deaths, at our inability to feel sorrow, crash down to earth. I will acknowledge you until I can't breathe, any longer. I will _not_ forget. And I will _remember._" Despite his heartfelt but simple speech, Naruto remained unmoving despite the sudden, empathetic, choked-up grin he beamed up to the older man. He wilted slightly at the lack of response, until he felt hesitant, strong arms around him, drawing him closer by a millimeter. Then that smile increased until the full lips were pulled into an impressive curve, a semblance of near-perfect life, problems resolved temporarily.

_**And it was enough.**_

'**Naruto-kun… **Arigatou.' That was Itachi's last thought, before he acted.

**And Itachi found himself staring deeply into those heavens-eyes, his own steadily closing as he leaned downward, fighting gravity no longer.**

**I—1233 words, NaruIta, ItaNaru… bold.**

…

_**o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o**_

_**…**_

**_Two, News; Letter — Paper Crane _**

_They just didn't understand._ How could they possibly comprehend what they didn't care to know? Naruto didn't get it. They called themselves his friends, spoke eloquently, acted sophisticated, pretended to be mature, and placed facades of care above their souls. But _why? _

_It was useless, wasn't it? _Naruto sighed softly, running a hand through his hair. So what? So what if he was the well-known moron, infamous for his hyper and unpredictable abilities? So what if he had issues stringing together very nice, fancy sentences, like _them? _So what? Who were they to define normal, anyhow…?

_He sighed again, and nestled closer into the other's arms._ Of course, Itachi was unnoticing of him at the moment. The Akatsuki shinobi was lost in analytical thought. Sometimes, Naruto would wonder how Itachi had ever survived without him—the man spent an enormous portion of his time thinking ahead and living the future down the millisecond, rather than enjoying the present. Of course, that only applied to his lifestyle when he was alone.

_Naruto bit his lip, and lifted the pen again._ He was writing a letter. Umino Iruka, his adoptive chuunin father, once told him that it was easier to write a letter to tell someone something important. 'Hmm… It's just so… isn't it? It's been said that writing a letter is so much easier, but is it true? Not like this…' He thought harder. An ordinary, commonplace question would be best suited to him and his thought process. But, then… Is it true that he _loves_ Uchiha Itachi? 'Yes.'

_So he had decided to try._ It was better than nothing, right? No news of his existence for three and half years would surely be driving the recovering Uchiha Sasuke crazy. The frequently hospitalized ANBU ninja suffered from frantic depression and constant exhaustion due to his astoundingly long searches for the blonde. He was extremely temperamental nowadays, from what Naruto gathered. He had lost the only person who he could _fight_ with and _hurt_—and hurt _with_—and yet still _understand,_ the only one who stood a chance of understanding _him._ Worst of all, he hadn't even seen it _coming._ Naruto's departure affected him in ways he'd hate to admit.

_And the other members of Cell Seven_—Hatake Kakashi probably forgot to worry about his well-being as much as Sasuke remembered to; the teacher was way too occupied with those books…

_But Sakura…_ Naruto half-expected a furious Haruno Sakura to spring out of the foliage at any moment, pummeling him into the ground and screaming nonsense about 'leaving without saying goodbye' and 'pissing off Sasuke-kun' while Itachi—and he himself—suffered from bewilderment. He sometimes caught himself thinking wistfully back to the days where everything was simple. Black and white, friend and enemy... This, Itachi, had changed everything, adding so very many shades of brilliant gray to the almost-photographic image that existed inside of him.

_And now…_ Well, now he couldn't afford to think sentimentally in that manner. He had sacrificed that to be with the mysterious dark-haired man; one who was an S-Class missing-nin, Akatsuki member, and murderer of the Uchiha clan. But to Naruto, he was only _Itachi._

_The black fountain ink pen hovered above the parchment that taunted Naruto, daunting in its blankness._

_Dear Everyone…_

_Naruto paused. _What could he say? 'I'm sorry' didn't seem to cover it. He shrugged, chewing on his inner lip in frustration. Iruka gave great advice; Naruto was just terrible at interpretations.

_Dear Everyone,_

_I'm sorry._

'_Well, it was worth a try.'_ Those incredibly blue eyes flashed in the fading sunlight, and at last he tossed aside the pen, crumpling the paper into fragmented, irrecoverable smithereens. He wadded the remains tightly and tossed them behind him, over his and Itachi's touching shoulders, unmindful of the other shredded papers and the devoid environment.

_He started again, for the twelfth time._ "Anou… Or is it the nineteen time?"

"_Don't worry about it," Itachi groaned slightly, stirring._ So he was finally awake. The blonde-haired shinobi spared him a glance, and began again, letting the random words flow. Let them all make sense of it, since they were so smart, ne?

_Dear Everyone,_

_I'm sorry. Please don't worry about me, and if possible, forgive me. I know this is more than overdue, and you're all probably about ready to lose hope and forget all about me… but… Look, I AM SORRY. I can't pick and choose who I fall in love with, now can I? Can you? … I kind of thought not; that that kind of thing was impossible to pick and choose. Right?_

_But anyhow, despite all this, I am alive and well. If I told whom I love and why, you'd never believe me. I guess I'll have to leave you with this, although it isn't nearly enough for all that you've done for me. _

_Please don't try to find me. Thank you, and be happy knowing that I miss you all very much! (Save me some ramen for when I visit in the spring! Yes, I'm coming back soon for a quick stop…!)_

_Goodbye,_

_Uzumaki Naruto, ex-'Future-Hokage of Konohagakure', missing-nin._

_(By the way… Sasuke-teme: Are you hurt, scaredy-cat? STOP MOPING, you dummy! You're the one who taught me life is life, and that sometimes you have to fight to get anywhere. The big, bad Sasu-kun I know wouldn't shrivel up, like a plant, so easily. So get out of that stupid hospital and dig out your wallet (GO RAMEN!) if you can't find me! You aren't the Sasuke-teme I know! And… You'd better not die if you wanna fight me! Hear that? Don't die, you MORON! (glomps and force-feeds)_

_(Sakura: Don't kill me!!! (cries) Gaara: … Really, really don't kill me...! (cries harder) Kakashi-sensei: Stop reading porn before Iruka-sensei dumps you. (throttles) Neji, Shikamaru, Kiba, Chouji, everyone: … Sorry (again…)._

_Goodbye for real, and see ya soon,_

_Future Hokage, no matter what._

_Naruto dropped the pen, exhausted emotionally. _His small doodles were less than pretty and definitely confusing, and the writing was... He sighed. The process had taken him far longer than he'd anticipated, still leaving him dissatisfied, and the stress behind it had built up to the point where it manifested physically. The sun had vanished, leaving behind the desolate wasteland of Sunagakure. "Are you ready to depart, Naruto-kun? Or would you prefer to sleep here?" Itachi asked, concerned with the sudden tiredness that appeared on Naruto's countenance.

"_Here is fine," Naruto muttered, rubbing at his weary eyes._ He had a feeling. He doubted he would be able to rest at all tonight. "But I guess we should get a move on, ne?" The elder nodded nonchalantly, brushing off that familiar red-clouded and black cloak.

_Naruto thought on his next dilemma as Itachi readjusted the weapons holsters beneath his cloak._ How would he pass on his message inconspicuously? This place was _Suna, _after all, and Sabaku no Gaara was, next to the youngest Uchiha, one of the most protective bastar—_friends,_ he hastily corrected with a lingering smile—he had ever known.

_Itachi looked at him knowingly._ "You are worried." It was flat, his voice, and left no room for arguments. Naruto heaved a lofty sigh and nodded. That was one of the strange things about the Akatsuki nin—he was so perceptive, for a supposedly apathetic person.

"_I'll be okay, though._" Even to him, it sounded insincere. His companion stilled his movements with a slight hitch of breath, his crimson orbs narrowing. Itachi slowly reached over the blue-eyed one's shoulder for one of the colored papers.

"_Let me show you something," He murmured into Naruto's ear, eyes blazing a Sharingan **red.**_ Naruto shuddered with the sudden and unexpected shiver of pleasure that raked down his spine. The paper crinkled and was folded crisply, all at once, line by line, taking shape. It was a red paper, smooth, too. He watched as the perfectionist's hands gradually shifted to reveal something.

_His eyes widened in awe._ "A-A paper crane! I once saw some old guy make one at the really big festival, you know, the one for New Year's! Sugoi! So pretty, Itachi!" He vaguely felt a tiny grin of amusement being pressed into his hair because of their close proximity.

"_Yes._ A paper crane." Itachi spoke quietly, intimately, "My mother once told me that paper cranes symbolized hope." Naruto froze. The Uchiha never spoke of his mother. He listened closely. "She told me that, if one were to allow the wind to grasp it—hence, throwing yourself to the mercy of life… Then that very same breeze would lead the crane to a place, one you were meant to see. And if you ever saw it again, it would mean that something important was to take place there; that all the things of that place happened for a reason. It would play out fate, in a sense." Itachi's brow was slightly furrowed as he spoke of his biological—he'd never had the will to allow himself such attachment as to feel affection for her—parent's dreamy notions.

"_So sometimes, you have to trust blindly?" _The Uzumaki asked in confirmation, summarizing the speech eagerly. Itachi smirked—oh-so-slightly—and tilted his head in acknowledgement. He took the dropped, neglected, and abused pen into his capable hands, and scrawled a name—Naruto's name—into the folds of the wing.

_He silently attached transparent, thin strings of chakra to it. _For a moment, he let it dance before Naruto, manipulating it skillfully so that the sheer paper came alive and moved animatedly in the spirited wind. The blonde watched in awe for a moment, silenced and contemplative. Itachi seized the opportunity, leaning in for a darting, chaste kiss.

_Their lips brushed, silk against satin—if only for an instant—and he savored the blush that Naruto sported when it ended._ "There. All better." He said softly, uncharacteristically. The missing-nin stood quickly, lurching to his feet smoothly, leaving Naruto unharmed and mock-glaring upward from his place, deposited on the ground.

"_Not nice," He remarked, sighing._ "But really, is that why? Why you told me the story? Was that the meaning? Do you really think this'll get back to them all?" Naruto's face was determined and stern for once, the seriousness of the topic gravitating towards his normal personality. "Do you think so, Itachi? You know I'm serious, right? You care, for me, too, don't you?" His questions started to gain more hidden meanings as he continued, deep, searching cerulean eyes prying into the other.

_Itachi only smiled enigmatically._ "Naruto-kun, you know the answers already." He rephrased the sentiment again, as if to reassure the younger, "You already know the answers."

_Naruto returned the grin tenfold._ "Yeah, I do, don't I?" He asked cheekily, accepting the hand Itachi held out to him. Their hands stayed intertwined, at uneven levels, as Naruto repeated, "But, do you really think I'll be able to get the letter back to them? Do you think they'll understand at all?"

"_Of course. _Now let us see about this letter of yours in the morning. You've worried quite enough for the both of us, today."

_And Naruto smiled, as Itachi's other, strict hand loosened considerably, cutting the chakra strands, and the desolate wind swept down. _The paper crane…

_He—no, _they—_watched it dance to the horizon, before Itachi pulled Naruto to his feet and they found themselves both standing as the sunlight streamed around them. _Naruto's lips twisted upwards again, and he opened his mouth to speak as they turned away to begin their voyage.

"_Yeah._ Tomorrow."

_**o.O.o.O**_

_Sasuke stared at the small object that had draped itself into his lap. _His onyx eyes drifted closed in anticipation, and he could feel a slight burning sensation prickle behind his tightly shut optics. It wasn't possible. It couldn't be. It wasn't fair, was it? Disbelief wrenched at his chest. _'Not-now-not-now-not-now… How can he live, how can he live, how can he be alive? I-won't-cry-I-won't-cry…!' _Thoughts blurred into an indistinguishable mess in his perfectly structured, perfectly constructed mind. He could only understand the sound of his rapidly beating heart, blood flushing around inside him, speed increasing, increasing…!

_It had waltzed in through the window, on the mere whim of the zephyr._ A single, red paper crane. And the name upon it…

_Uzumaki Naruto._ It brought hope.

_He curled his knees closer to his chest, perching it, the semblance of his thoughts, upon them delicately._ 'Naruto… I swear that I will find you someday, even if it kills me.' He promised wordlessly, burning red, three-comma eyes focused now solely upon that neat handwriting. He recognized it. Sasuke whispered hoarsely, "Itachi… Must you take everything from me? You've won for today, but I will have him in the end."

_The sound of silence echoed throughout the hospital, only the sterile white walls and the flittering, fickle crane witnessing the almost-as-good-as-silent vow._

**II—2151 words, ItaNaru, NaruIta, perhaps some _extremely_ slight SasuNaru… italic. **

…

_**o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o**_

**…**

_**Three, Jolt! —Frequently **_

**The breeze was weak, and Itachi's breathing was soft in the fading twilight.** The blood pooling around them only served to heighten the inescapable tension between them. "H-Hey…" The other boy—no, _man_—called feebly, his brash voice barely carrying over. Itachi's eyes narrowed, infamous Sharingan absent, already pale face drained of all color.

**There was still more blood to be shed. **Refusing to be meek, the Uchiha prodigy—the original one, of course—barely bit his tongue back from shouting curses and icy death threats; honestly, truly he meant to harm. But judging by the blossoming red liquid splayed around him, he was in no condition to torment the blonde."Nani?" He asked curtly. He didn't have time. 'Not enough time,' His organized, clear-cut mind shouted.

'**Shut up,' He snarled in reply.** Outwardly, his calmness, that eerie calmness, remained.

"**Why don't you…?"** The tired one laying beside him murmured, began, faltered, inhaled painfully. His pretty, pretty face contorted into a sincere grimace of pain as he drew in a slow breath. Itachi could nearly hear the fellow shinobi's shattered ribs struggling to keep up with his greedy diaphragm. "Why can't you…?"

"…" Itachi frowned imperceptibly. 'What is he saying?'

**A silence pressed and pursued them. **"… you, ne?"

"**Hmm?**" It was difficult to hear in this state. His head was tilted ever-so-slightly more towards the deepening well of liquid, and his mind was foggy from blood loss. The battle between the two hadn't gone well. Naruto had bought time for his team to escape, and so had Itachi for his companions—No matter how unwillingly, for he _had_ wanted to see Naruto-kun in some way…—but at a severe price. "Repeat yourself." He commanded, wielding unnamed authority through the clear, fog-less, and crisp morning air.

"**Fine, you arrogant jerk.**" Itachi bristled at the petty—and it really was so petty, but something about how Naruto said it, and how it was _Naruto_ saying it, bothered him—insult, almost instinctively activating some natural fear-inducing stages. The stimuli that were meant to induce terror rippled through him, but… Unfortunately, or fortunately, neither could do much to the other, despite their hard-earned wishes. He gave in, half-stained ruby eyes drifting back to placated onyx. Not enough time, not enough blood, not enough anything, to care. "I said, 'It would be stupid for me to ask you, ne?'."

**Itachi hated to admit that he hadn't been paying attention. **His central thoughts were more along lines of death and suffering, as well as that ever-present, but foreign, contemplation of Naruto. "Ask what?" He inquired slowly, forgetting his ego in his curiosity. The same cold, callous tone rang through, and he could have sworn the other flinched.

**Naruto's body wrenched again, and he tried his hardest to forget the agony that the elder male's Mangekyou eyes had brought onto and upon him.** He struggled to maintain consciousness. "Urusai," He panted, "I'm… thinking… of how to kill you…!"

"**Never give up, do you?**" Inwardly, Itachi wondered wryly. 'Will Sasuke ever forgive you?' His expression remained as it was before—as nothing—and he experimentally attempted to shift his fingers closer to his kunai pouch. No luck.

"**What kind of stupid question is that?**" The answer that was shot back at him was expected. But then again, he was just buying time. They both were, in actuality.

'**What else can I do?** Think, think, Uchiha!' It wasn't an option to die here and now. The cloak—that simple article of clothing that marked him as a hated outsider—glimmered with wetness. 'More blood!' He realized with the distressed, unwanted jerking of a groaning limb.

**The drawling continuance of the unrequited conversation that he now dreaded came to pass from the lips of his enemy. **"Well, if you must know…"

**The eyes of Naruto were haggard now in their shame and desire and battle lust. **"I asked if it would be okay to die. 'Cause that's what'll happen to one of us, right? No 'Option C' today, ne?"

**Secretly, Itachi agreed.** No Option C. But why did his torso hurt so badly at the thought? It wasn't the new and improved Rasengan that had been tossed his way with a flash of those determined blue eyes, he was sure. That had been his right abdominal section, where the firm and obstinate arm had connected at last, and not the place near to his heart. Absentmindedly his hand and wrist twitched, displaying an impulse to nurse the area. 'Doushite?'

"**And then, I asked you something else, Uchiha.** Were you listening then, at least?"

**For a while, the only sounds were the distant birds' cries, and the two men's regrets.**

"**Look, I don't wanna die." **Naruto admitted it so very softly, "Especially with regrets, you know?" Itachi understood. They were both helpless, lying here. "I think there's a rescue team on the way. ANBU—they sent 'em for reinforcements when we started the siege. Smart." No response, and he coughed a few times, trying to compact his trembling body.

**It wasn't working.** He hacked and hacked, vision dotted with black and white bursts of color, ground spinning. 'Too… much speed… Breathe-breathe-breathe…' He screamed inside, knowing his physical lungs were incapable of more than a hoarse whisper. At last he slumped against the tree, the nearly comatose body of Itachi beside him. "Look, I only dragged you over here so I wouldn't have to listen to you whine about the sun in your eyes. Shade keeps bodies better, too. No smell, you see? And at least you'll be better company dead."

'**That stung a little,' Itachi reasoned.**'How thoughtless, how like him.'

**For a moment, the Akatsuki nin doubted his choices.**'Why did I bother with this world? This pathetic existence is nothing. Akatsuki is nothing. So why did I protect it?' The tree's boughs stirred, depositing a load of supple, springy leaves upon them.

"**Gross.** A ladybug! Get it off, get it off, _get it **off**_!" Naruto yelled irritably, his body shuddering in a half-hearted stab at getting rid of the innocent insect. Itachi found it amusing that the blonde shinobi, soon-to-be-Rokudaime, was shivering in disgust at the thought of a fairly harmless and even cutesy bug, when he had nearly been murdered by an ambushing S-Class nin party moments ago. And then he'd had the stupidity to drag his main antagonist under a tree—now they occupied it together.

"**Do it yourself," The stoic raven-haired man replied rather heartlessly. **The blue-eyed one, surprisingly, pouted and gave up with a final spasm. "Helpless fool." His mind began hurling out vicious comments, none of which were heard. 'Why do I hold back?'

"**Fine, loser.** I'm not the one who got his butt kicked." Both chose not to acknowledge the fact that they were equal in strength, they were both either dying or living. "But anyhow, I don't want to kick the can with a lot of questions." Itachi's optics squeezed shut in morbid anticipation. This was not how he wanted to die. He'd wanted an honorable death, perhaps slaughtering an army for his country and his loyalty, facing the captain of the troops and simultaneously delivering each other death blows in battle—and he'd been so _close_. Instead he would have his ears left ringing by Naruto's babble. Was it too much to ask, to be like his preceding ancestors?

**He sighed.** The future wasn't looking pleasing in the slightest.

"**Don't…**" He pleaded, for the first and—hopefully the—last time in his miserable, lonely, lacking-in-interest, Naruto-less—Wait, what was that?—life. He shrugged off his worries as Naruto began ranting. At least it would ease the passage of time.

"**Okay, so…" **A pause, before, "Why don't you let anyone close to you? Why are you so cruel? Why aren't you nicer? Why-aren't-you-married? Do you really hate Sasuke? Did you really kill your clan for power and to test your abilities? Should I shut up? Is the Sharingan cool? What do you hate most? What's your favorite food? What do Akatsuki people do in their spare time? Do you really use kiwi shampoo? Does it hurt to die, do you think? Was Sasuke a cute baby? Were _you?_" Naruto shakily inhaled again, and began a new battery of verbal assault. "Well, what do you think of me? Is Fish-face really part shark? Can you die at peace? Do you think I could… I could…" He faltered, blushing at the annoyed look of the other. "Can-I-kiss-you? I-just-want-to-see-what-it's-like, one-that's-not-like-an-accident-with-Sasuke…"

**Well, it _was_ an emotion from the eldest, surviving Uchiha, right? **Goal accomplished, right? Hesitantly, Naruto breathed quietly for a second, before getting ready to begin again.

"**Be…**silent…" Itachi whispered, orbs tightly closed, brows furrowed into a deep curve, arm convulsing, as if by some miracle reaching for a set of well-groomed shuriken to end the torture.

**Naruto felt superficially—and then some, although this was an adversary, and this treatment was expected—hurt, but he smiled quickly. **"Ara, sorry. I kind of ramble, no?" No reply to his queries, and he deflated dejectedly. "Okay, okay… Let's just wait, then."

**After an hour or two, time began to crawl by with the hastiness of a lethargic tortoise. **Itachi had never felt so useless in his entire life, not even as a genin walled up in the Shinobi Gakuen during a lecture from his sensei. 'This… is a terrible waste…' Suddenly, a mental barrier—one called suffocating pride—buckled, and he began blathering, too.

"**I forgive you.**_ It's boring here. _I hate people. I'm not cruel, simply overly selective and harsh in respects. I don't do nice. _Married—are you insane?_ Not really, he's just thickheaded and stupider than a glass of water." Briefly, Naruto pondered what he'd be if Sasuke was _that_ dumb. He didn't really want to know. This new side of Itachi was… weird. No wonder he hadn't ever spoken up before. His train of thought was indestructible once it began, even if Naruto had already forgotten his questions.

**It was kind of scary, how the voice remained glacial and yet the topics were so… friendly.** "No. Yes-maybe-not. Very advantageous. I hate dango and sweets and Kisame and Icha Icha Paradise and running out of nail polish and salesmen and Konoha, in that precise order. Scrabble. No, it's really kiwi-mango-citrus, you idiot—can't you tell? Probably. Yes, very cute—I have perfect blackmail, if you'd like, right here. I'd rather not talk about it; my childhood was a rather ugly thing. You're… interesting, different, strange, intriguing, fuckab—anou, cute. It's probable and quite likely, judging by the smell. Absolutely not—I have my own regrets and questions to ask—and so I will not die. And why not? We might as well try; I've wondered myself why I haven't exterminated you yet, Naruto-kun." The ridiculously confusing stream of answers halted Naruto's brain momentarily.

"**W-Wha…?"** An awfully unsteady hand reached up for him, all strength gathered, _pain, pain, _and he found his collar yanked. Choking, he quickly bent, wheezing at the force and momentum. He saw flashes of color. Dark hair, pale skin, piercing eyes, red clouds, blue sky, red bug falling away… He felt the sensations before his brain registered them.

**His eyes had been open when it happened, and… **Soft, supple, silky skin, slippery strands of silk between them, blood, dried blood across their cheeks, the withered brush of leaves, a terse smirk forming below him. 'Wait. Below?'

**Years later, and…**

**Naruto could still remember the way Itachi's eyes had _burned_ when their lips met for the first time.** Steadily their eyes closed, together as one, the agonized hand loosening its firm grip as the unwilling melted away, leaving only want and exploration. Mouths clashed, wills burned. The battle continued, only now it was with tongues and lips and teeth and jaws and motions and ministrations. An unfamiliar warmth was in him, swirling over his lips, delving inside, here and there, touching, feeling, hinting suggestively.

**And they fought.** After all, that was the only way to determine a winner, the only way to continue. It was unspoken, and Naruto kissed back with fervor. Teeth grazed his bottom lip, he felt the pulse of the other as they moved in; the whole experience was… it was gritty and exhilarating! He subconsciously moved closer, leaning down further to press closer. He forced himself to stay there, to not fall, not fall… And still those eyes…! His own narrowed, and he thrust his body forward, lurching uncontrollably. At last his other arm was hooked over the other, palms against the jarring ground, shock jolting through them both. And he felt a little satisfied as a slightly-shaking hand came to clasp his arm. The other was still winning, he noted dismally.

**Well, he'd have to change that, right?** Such twisted logic played about inside him, and he quickly forced his way beyond it. And so they continued, gradually ending with such infinite slowness, in a simple position. Somehow, their strength had multiplied a hundred-fold during the task, endorphins of pleasure rushing throughout their bodies among the moans and smirks and attacks and strategies of a different sort. It was new, but that didn't matter. "Hnn," He felt the vibration of the short word radiate from the throat of the Uchiha, simply from their lack of personal space, as he was slammed against the trunk of the now-splintered tree. Their hips ground together, and Naruto gyrated them together experimentally. A shiver of secret delight ran through him, and he felt a jolt when their suddenly parted lips connected again.

'**It's just a jolt, right?**' He told himself internally, somewhere far away from this chaos. 'It's still a jolt,' Answered his mind. 'But… isn't he…?' And then Naruto was too caught up to care.

**They sank down, sitting and leaning retrospectively.** Never stopping, never relenting, breathing only when their high grew too much to manage, then diving in again. 'He can't win!' They were simultaneous, and the moment was beautiful. A fragile hand at last slipped to its place among tanned skin and sunlit locks, and Naruto's own clasped the other around the back of his neck. Pulling him in, pulling him in… Above him, below, beside, together, the leaves howled and the wind whirred. 'Chikuso! How am I losing?' Naruto frowned into the junction of their lips. Bruises were made, touches given, smiles of triumph exchanged. The air grew hotter and hotter, Itachi's mouth more familiar and accepted. 'Hey, it's not so bad… I think we're getting close to a tie!'

**He leaned closer, again, and was met well enough.** At last a long break was taken, bruised and abused lips touched and caressed, egos repaired and cramped muscles rested. The air was cold. "Ara… Not so bad." Naruto muttered. Itachi glared sharply, the coldness of his eyes making up for his body's sudden blank response to his will.

"**What the hell do you mean, 'not so bad'!**" After all, peace between Naruto and anyone never lasted long. Inhaling sharply, and although remotely—or so very much more so—tired, Itachi bent over again, arms on either side of Naruto's head, heels of his hands crumbling the bark of the ancient, twisted tree. Naruto noted that Itachi's notorious Sharingan suspiciously absent as he leaned down and captured the smooth lips of his newfound companion. At last it appeared, and the other gasped in surprise at the new height of enjoyment. Naruto took the advantage as it came. Soon it was war once more. Day and night, light and dark, Naruto and Itachi, blonde and black, blue and red, hands entwined, merging, _merging; _became one as the moon rose ever-so-slowly.

**And it… progressed. **"Aaah…" Their positions were different again, Naruto's hands and arms wound around Itachi's neck loosely, tightly, torso arching upwards, Itachi no longer bothering with the trouble of anti-expression as he lost himself among the heights and heat of passion. "S-See, Itachi? People are… not so bad… Touching… Being nice… wasn't bad, ne? Not too exhausting, too tiresome…?" The future Rokudaime panted shyly, resting his close-to-glistening body against the other's side. He breathed out deep in relief, his healing abilities began kicking in at last, closing shallow surface wounds.

**The red surrounding them had begun to fade, bleeding back into the earth.**

"**Say it again, and—"**

"**Say what? That you…"**

"**We can manage a few more rounds." **The tone was threatening, the menacing and congealing posture of the body clear. Naruto paid no heed, inwardly concealing a smile.

"**That's it?**"

"**You'd best not imply or infer things about me, Naruto-kun." **The Akatsuki nin glared fiercely, defending his pride. "I'm warning you not to insult me. I will have no qualms with slitting your throat." '_Liar.'_

"**Well, but you _know_ I was right. **Doing something other than killing isn't so hard, is it? That was mildly interesting—h-hey! What are you doin—"

_**o.O.o.O**_

**Needless to say, the rescue team had stumbled upon quite a sight.** Naruto flushed brighter than the reddish leaves around him, redder than the offending ladybug perched near his foot, redder than Itachi's gleaming, amused eyes, redder than the shallow katana gash the other was lapping at smoothly and seductively, redder than the marks that had spread from his lips down his tanned torso, redder than the blood dotting the ground. He laughed nervously, still locked in the desperate, almost unconscious embrace that had become normal as he lay there, pinned and embarrassed at the nature of their position. Itachi appeared both nonchalant and indifferent, before his tongue slipped out and encircled the cut lazily one last time. It retracted, and instead his lips were placed on Naruto's beet-red, hotly flushing neck as one of the bolder masked ninja spoke out. "Oh."

**Yeah, 'oh'.**

**Years later, and he could remember the stories the reconnaissance ANBU told. **"Oh, yeah, yeah! Remember the one about Rokudaime-sama getting screwed by the Akatsuki guy! Can you tell it? That one is the _best_!"

**And Itachi?**His new hobby was 'ruining' the Rokudaime's reputation…

**III—3008 words, ItaNaru, NaruIta, implied yaoi… bold.**

…

_**o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o**_

**…

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**

**(A/N: Well, that's the end for Themes 1, 2, 3. Review?** (It's my first doing way-too-big-to-be-drabbles. So big, about a chapter size! First time posting any… ahem, implied yaoi that extreme. (laughs evilly) Aha, Itachi is a vampire! (Not really.) Behold the weird effects of late night 'Naruto Ondo' (I didn't know Takeuchi-san could sing so catchy-like!) and 'OH!ENKA'. Were the 'drabbles' any good, or just icky blah? These themes are weird… But I like them, because, coincidentally of course, _I_ am weird. But really. How did the readers like it? No one knows…) (wanders off)

**(Oh, yes.** Thank you for making it all the way to the bottom! (claps) But can you keep going to the others? And don't be worried about offending me with a question on the story, go ahead and ask. Smack me if I blow up at you and forget my promise… (scratches back of head)

**(Wow.** This ended up being longer than my tDoA chapters… (weeps) (runs away in shame)

**(Well, so long, and thank you for reading the strange-ness! Until next time.)

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**

**Japanese Vocabulary Index; (I kind of limited the vocabulary this time…) (Got a question? Ask it! Did I skip a big one? Mention it!)**

Shounen-ai—boy love, literally (boy X boy pairing) (I feel sorry for you if you hate shounen-ai, but are still reading up to this point…)

Yaoi—Intensified shounen-ai, a more serious relationship, often involving _real_ boy X boy action! (grins, cheers)

Nin—shorthand term for 'ninja' (Example: Akatsuki nin: Akatsuki ninja)

Akatsuki—Nine-man (Or ten?) organization that seeks tailed bijuu (Sealed demons?) for mysterious purposes; in general, a powerful, bad lot. S-Class members.

Ara—ah

-kun—suffix to a (boy's) name, adding affection and sometimes respect to it (Example: Naruto-kun: (is kind of like, absolutely don't quote me) my close male friend Naruto); pretty informal

-sei—suffix to a name, meaning 'companion' (Example: Itachi-sei. Companion Itachi; my companion Itachi.)

Arigatou—thank you

Shinobi—ninja

Chuunin—mid-rank ninja

Hokage—the leader of a hidden village (Rokudaime: sixth Hokage)

Konohagakure—Hidden Village of Leaves, Village Hidden in the Leaves (Konoha)

Missing-nin—Pretty self-explanatory. Ninja who deserted, or were exiled by, their home village.

-teme—suffix to a name (sometimes) or stand-alone, meaning 'bastard' (Example: Sasuke-teme: Sasuke-bastard)

Sunagakure—Hidden Village of Sand, Village Hidden in the Sand (Suna)

Sharingan—Bloodline limit (Why do they call it that?) of the Uchiha clan, (nicknamed swirly eyes to me) with three comma-like marks at third stage. Is able to mutate into the Mangekyou Sharingan.

Sugoi!—wow!

Chakra—life force or substance used to perform jutsus (techniques)

Nani?—what?

Mangekyou Sharingan—Final stage of the Sharingan, obtained by killing one's closest friend and by severing that bond (Itachi has this…). So far, I have seen it tear apart people psychologically (make you see whatever wielder desires for hours in seconds) and burn things up (tsukiyomi and amaterasu). Cool… Eheheheh. It looks like a pinwheel.

Urusai—shut up

Chikuso—damn

Kunai—pointy, triangular knife made for throwing (cheers)

Rasengan—spiral-like technique taught to Naruto by Jiraiya in three stages (that's all I'll say for now so I don't spoil it for Cartoon Network viewers)

Doushite?—why?

Genin—low-class, starting ninja (graduate from the Shinobi Gakuen)

-sensei—teacher (Example: Iruka-sensei: Teacher Iruka, Master Iruka)

Shinobi Gakuen—ninja school, ninja academy

Dango—sweet, sticky round spheres of doom on a stick

Anou…—well…, erm…, eh…, er…, uh…, um… (Those stuttering words everyone knows and 'loves'.)

-ne?—suffix, usually to a question, with no specific meaning; just intended for emphasis, I guess (comparable to 'eh' or 'right') (Example: Naruto loves his ramen, ne?)

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**Story Notes;**

**a—In this story, **traditional Japanese name formats are used. Last name first. So instead of Naruto Uzumaki, the name is Uzumaki Naruto. (I prefer it this way. More fun!)

**b—LJ Community—**See previous notice on the special note chapter for more information.

**c—Class of Shinobi—**Don't understand? I can't explain it here, but check my other story's first chapter. The Death of Arrogance, a SasuNaru. It explains the Hokage thing, levels of power, ranking, et cetera. Have fun.

**d—Drabbles** are short stories, usually only a couple hundred words. Unfortunately, I never _could_ do anything short. So I present my modified two thousand-word ones instead. (grins)

**e—The bold and italics are…** I don't know. I liked them. Deal, please? (Already been explained.)

**f—I added titles to the drabbles. **Too bad, so sad. Yeah, yeah… (sighs) Be nice to readers, dark.

**g—Naruto and Sasuke:** It's cute how they already have pet names for each other. Anyhow, in the letter, don't ask where 'Sasu-kun' came from. Scaredy-cat is a reference to the skirmish with Orochimaru in the Forest of Death, where Naruto stops the snake. (Previously, Sasuke spoke those words to him at the beginning of the Wave Arc.) And the parenthesis in there are Naruto's little doodles.

**h—Eheheheh.** I think everyone gets Naruto's and Itachi's mess-ups… (smirks) Nice one, Itachi.

**i—RANDOM: **Paper crane: I saw something like this, only instead with a dollar bill or so. Kinda interesting, no? Actuality: it's a fun word. I wasn't sure it existed, but yes. It does. Ladybugs: like me, bite everyone else I know. I wonder why. Nail polish joke for Itachi: I couldn't resist. Hundred-fold: tenfold, but… uh, more.

**j—(smirks) **Well, you can imagine all the extra details of the yaoi. So it's not exactly a hard lemon or lime. A… TANGERINE! Besides that, (laughs) Itachi's skills got insulted! (sticks tongue out at harmless plushy and cackles) Take that, Itachi! (the poor plushy stares at dark in confusion and innocence)

**k—Couldn't decide** whether or not to keep the ending about the ANBU's stories. Yes? No? And ignore the sudden super-strength they gained to 'have fun' and make us all some good-old yaoi! (laughs)

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**Reviews: **

**Sincere thanks to…**

Nobody! (cries slightly)

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**Next Chapter ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;**

**Next three themes are… Our Distance and That Person, "Anou Sa…", The Space Between Dream and Reality.**

**Set 2 ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

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**

_**I can hardly believe it. I'm DONE? (I feel like I'm forgetting something.)**_

_**Nonetheless, I'm posting this immediately (but not really...) so I can go back to crazy and hectic updating! YES!**_

**Ja ne,**

**o.O.o.O darkenedmoonlightflame O.o.O.o**

**And company. My adorably annoying muses. 'Kotsu-san and the Sess-sei.**

(P.S. Hope you enjoyed this, and will show some self-restraint when poking at us… If not… (evil smile) Anyhow, thanks for reading 'Thirty-30'…!)

**Chapter Finished: 11.20.06 or earlier, exact date has been forgotten. (Great, aren't I?)**

**Post: 12.30.06. Delays, JIC (just in case); and it's just for 2007. If it's greatly disliked, I shall remove it.**

**Spell Check: Yep. **

**Brain Check: Hnn. That's not funny, 'Kotsu-san. But then again, it is. (glares) Too… tired… to… strangle!**


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